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Infil-Traitor
“Maxil, Maxil, what’s wrong, your eyes man! What are you doing with that... no!” –Last words of Adept Acolyte Danvers An Infil-traitor is an unwilling assassin, a living weapon turned against former friends and allies to sow terror and death. Infil-traitors are disposable weapons whose chief effectiveness lies in their ability to be rapidly converted from captives or abductees and turned unexpectedly against their erstwhile comrades. Captured, tortured, and mentally rewired, either by the dark arts of the witch or sorcerer or through the application of ancient and sinister technologies, Infil-traitors have no idea of what has happened to them until their programming is triggered---and then they become blank-eyed killers. Although the processes of creating an Infil-traitor are much the same as that of creating one of the Mind-Cleansed, the process is performed with much greater speed and nowhere near as thoroughly. The mental programming overlays rather than replaces the subject’s original thought patterns, instilling a set of pre-programmed commands and mimetic knowledge crudely and brutally on the subject’s mind. The use of Infil-traitors is a long-established practice both by the Inquisition itself (which uses them often to infiltrate heretical sects) and by some of its enemies, such as the Logicians and the Brotherhood of the Horned Darkness within the Calixis Sector (although the means by which these two organizations create their living weapons differs greatly). It is also far from unknown, though it is considered a particularly odious tactic, for certain Inquisitors and Radical factions to employ Acolytes and agents turned Infil-traitors against their rivals within the Holy Ordos. 'Becoming an Infil-traitor' The first criteria for a character to become an Infil-traitor is to run afoul, in secret, of some agency, enemy, or cult with the means and motive to abduct and modify him accordingly. The character suffers 2d5 Insanity Points and gains the Trait Flawed Conditioning (see below) and may choose advances from this career rank representing his conditioning. The Infil-traitor should receive a specific task (such as an assassination, act of sabotage or particular bit of theft or spy work) that he must carry out at the behest of the agency that has programmed him, as well a trigger event or code word, both of which must be secretly agreed between the player and the GM in advance. The Acolyte will then carry on behaving as normal until his conditioning is triggered, at which point he must try to carry it out to the best of his ability until he accomplishes his mission, his conditioning breaks down, or he dies trying. Required Career: Any Alternate Rank: Rank 4 or higher (2,000 XP) Flawed Conditioning The mental conditioning and mimetic programming that makes an Infil-traitor is far from perfect, and if he is subjected to sufficiently powerful trauma, his mind can shatter or regress and the conditioning unravel. If an Infil-traitor fails a Fear Test by more than three degrees, suffers mental trauma, suffers Critical Damage, a psychic attack on his mind, or is called on to perform a self-destructive act by his programming, this conditioning may break down. If any of these factors occur, the Infil-traitor may try and pass a Hard (–20) Willpower Test to break free of the conditioning. If successful, the Infil-Traitor falls catatonic for 1d5 hours (or until roused by medical attention), after which time he is free of the conditioning and this Trait. If he fails, the conditioning holds and he suffers 1d5 Insanity Points. Alternatively, the character may spend 200 XP to automatically pass the Willpower Test. Warning This career option is intended to provide experienced players with an opportunity to be a ‘double agent’ of sorts---at least for a while. As such, it may well result in their character eventually being eliminated from play, quite possibly at the hands of their comrades once their treachery comes to light! There is, however, a ‘way back’ if their conditioning can be broken, which can provide the chance for some great roleplaying experiences and memorable events on the way, to say nothing of the later adventure where characters get revenge on their former puppet master. This option should only be taken in full cooperation between the player(s) and the GM, and with a mind to how it may affect an ongoing campaign.